Liberal Feminism Prevalent in Manal-Al-Sharif's Talk

My approved topic is liberal feminism, and I will be discussing its’ presence in the talk called A Saudi woman who dared to drive by Manal al-Sharif.
Liberal feminism is the belief that women should have the same opportunities as men; it is based on a desire to promote equal opportunity between male and female. Liberal feminism produces arguments that women are just as rational as men and therefore should have equal opportunity to make their own choices. Liberal feminism seeks to erase gender-biased distinctions in law.
Manal al-Sharif was a Saudi-Arabian woman, in which country women are not allowed to drive; this is not law, but more of a taboo. Manal al-Sharif decided to challenge this and it resulted in her being imprisoned for daring to break the taboo and be seen behind the wheel, as well as her brother being detained for handing over his car keys. This was followed by a huge media outrage and women took to the streets to drive (none of whom were arrested). Manal al-Sharif was released after nine days, and the talk she gives is describing the events, and the reasoning behind this, and the effects and consequences which her actions have had in Saudi Arabia.
In her talk, Manal al-Sharif states that she believes “a society will not be free if women of that society are not free”. This demonstrates the argument often proposed by liberal feminists, that women should have the same rights as men. In effect, she is saying that women should be free; that they should not be oppressed by men, that they are equally important in societies, which is a very liberal feminist point of view.
The Quran teaches that “men are in charge of women” ; this is the reasoning used when it is questioned in Saudi Arabia why men have more rights than women. But Manal al-Sharif argues that driving is nothing to do with the teachings of the Quran, because cars weren’t even invented when…...

Similar Documents

...Liberal feminism seeks no special privileges for women and simply demand that everyone receive equal consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists would seek to remove barriers that prevent equal access for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women.
Radical feminism maintains that women’s oppression is the first, most widespread, and deepest oppression. Radical feminism rejects most scientific theories, data, and experiment not only because they exclude women but also because they are not women-centered. Radical feminism suggests that because men, masculinity, and patriarchy have become completely intertwined with technology and computer systems in our society, no truly feminist alternative to technology exists.
Postmodern feminist theories imply that no universal research agenda or application of technologies will be appropriate and that various women will have different reactions to technologies depending upon their own class, race, sexuality, country, and other factors. This definition of postmodern feminism parallels the description of the complex and diverse co-evolution of women and computing. In contrast to liberal feminism, postmodernism dissolves the universal subject and the possibility that women speak in a unified voice or that they can be universally addressed. Wajcman's (1991) thoughtful analysis of the social constructivist perspective on......

...Foundation Course
1
Human Rights, Gender & Environment
Understanding Patriarchy
Suranjita Ray•
Subordination of women to men is prevalent in large parts of the world. We come across experiences where women are not only treated as subordinate to men but are also subject to discriminations, humiliations, exploitations, oppressions, control and violence. Women experience discrimination and unequal treatment in terms of basic right to food, health care, education, employment, control over productive resources, decision-making and livelihood not because of their biological differences or sex, which is natural but because of their gender differences which is a social construct. “Sex is considered a fact - one is born with either male or female genitalia. Gender is considered a social construction - it grants meaning to the fact of sex. Conversely, it could be said that only after specific meanings came to be attached to the sexes, did sex differences become pertinent” (Geetha, 2002: 10). Gender based discriminations and exploitations are widespread and the socio-culturally defined characteristics, aptitudes, abilities, desires, personality traits, roles, responsibilities and behavioral patterns of men and women contribute to the inequalities and hierarchies in society. Gender differences are man made and they get legitimised in a patriarchal society. This paper attempts to link the theoretical dimensions of patriarchy with its empirical experiences to engage in the......

...Liberal Feminism
In today’s society, women are greatly advancing politically and economically due to the contributions of liberal feminists that began in the mid to late 20th century. Liberal feminists believe that gender differences should not be derived from biology and therefore, men and women should be treated equally and have equal rights under the law and in the workplace. However, there are a few limitations to liberal feminism including denigrating women traits such as empathy and nurturing in order to increase women’s social status in society. One major achievement that liberal feminism has achieved is getting gender equality for women in the workplace and education, written in the civil rights laws in the United States.
In the workplace, women have always faced discrimination by men through hiring, promotion and lower salaries. Liberal feminism has been trying to break these obstacles to help women find an easier passage to occupations that are usually conquered by men. The concepts of gate keeping, glass ceiling and gendered job queues are what liberal feminism have been fighting against to insure that women receive the same occupations, wages and benefits as men do. Affirmative Action was created to rectify the gender, racial and ethnical imbalance in the workplace which also helped women exceed without discrimination. Not only has liberal feminism advanced women with general occupations, but also with government positions.
Liberal feminists have been......

...Feminism by Madiha Rauf
Feminism is a collective struggle towards acceptance of women existence and recognition of their contributions. Its’ basic philosophy is to challenge the social status quo by defining and supporting women rights. Historically the term of feminism is established in western society as a protest against the laws and policies that compelled women to work in a subordinate role in the 18th century.
Millett characterizes feminism as a “system of political, economic and social equality between sexes” (Millett, 1970: 74). While it is defined as “politics directed at changing existing power relations between women and men in a society” by Weedon, (1987).Hooks (2000) explains feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”.
Feminism is diverse collections of social theories through which many focus on analyzing the social constructions of gender while other focus on gender inequality and promoting women’s rights. By describing major forms of feminism, Tuttle, Lisa (1986) says, radical feminism considers patriarchy as a root cause of women oppressions so believes on radical social changes while liberal feminism asserts the equality of men and women through legal and political reforms. Socialist feminism supports Marx’s ideas &relates the oppression of women to labor exploitation and class structure. While essential and cultural feminism believe that females value because of their special differences & inherent ability to......

...contribution of feminism to our understanding of families and households (24 marks )
There are several feminists perspective that attempt to understand family and household life, especially the role of which the women play in the social institution. However, they are similarities between the feminists perspective as most of them agree that women are oppressed within the family. This can be seen through who has the most benefits from domestic division and how these inequalities are shown. In this essay I will examine the three feminist perspectives on the family: liberal feminism, Marxist feminism and radical feminism.
Liberal feminists argue that the family is the key source to male domination and female oppression. They analysed the fact that in the past, father had the right to rule other family members. However, a liberal feminist called Gavron argued the family is a patriarchal institution, which mirrors patriarchal society. Which is seen in our society as most leaders in government predominately male, this is even seen in schools as most head teachers are male thus enforcing society to be more male dominate. The oppression of male domination has also led to women being more subservient in the work place, which make them subservient at home as they abide to the set norms of them cooking, cleaning and caring. Thus makes the liberal feminist believe that patriarchy is not a physical force, but a force of institutional control.
In some cases the liberal feminist believe...

...Kiana Rivera
ENG 101/1:00
Shafer
FEMINISM IS THE RADICAL NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE
Bra-burning and man-hating extremists, feminists are branded as insane, radical women who want to establish a matriarchy. While some feminists are angry and some hate men, not all feminists do. Actually, according to Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner in The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy, feminism “simply means the belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” (Feminism, Oppoising Viewpoints, pg 14) We only ever hear of the negative associated with feminism. When anti-feminist people are asked questions, most don’t understand why they believe that feminism is wrong and extreme; they do not understand why it is so vitally important, and why, even in 2013, it is still a relevant issue. Although there's a lot of information about feminism out there, much of it is judgmental, misinformed, or quite simply false. Women should have equal rights as men, and taking a stand to achieve this ideal with feminism is what’s slowly accomplishing this goal.
According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, feminism is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; organized activity in support of women's rights and interests.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, pg 1)
In an article by Rachel Fudge, published in 2005 she brings up a very valid point on the issue of feminism and the many years that is has been around:
“Despite 150 years of activism in pursuit of......

...Feminism in Multicultural Societies
An analysis of Dutch Multicultural and Postsecular Developments and their Implications for Feminist Debates
Eva Midden
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of PhD at the University of Central Lancashire May 2010
Student Declaration
Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards
I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution
Material submitted for another award
I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work
Signature of Candidate
Type of Award School
___PhD_________________________________ ___Centre for Professional Ethics___________
1
Abstract It was long assumed that both multiculturalism and feminism are connected to progressive movements and hence have comparable and compatible goals. However, both in academia and in popular media the critique on multiculturalism has grown and is often accompanied with arguments related to gender equality and/or feminism. According to political scientist Susan Moller Okin for example there are fundamental conflicts between our commitment to gender equality and the desire to respect the customs of minority cultures or religions. If we agree that......

...With the beginning of the women’s rights movement between the mid-1800s and the 1920s, various feminist ideologies began to take shape. The two main strands of feminist thought have become liberal and radical feminism. Liberal feminism’s main goal has been the continual push for equality before the law between men and women. Liberal feminism surpasses the traditional concept of “feminism” by advocating the equality of all citizens. It just happens to advocate on the side of women because women are more oppressed than men around the globe. A liberal feminist would not necessarily push for liberation on behalf of women specifically, but instead would push towards giving women equal standing before the law. In essence, a liberal feminist does not want to propel women above men, as that would result in the same injustice (except in reverse) that they are fighting, but instead want men and women to be seen as equals.
Radical feminism, as the name entails, has a more radical stance. A radical feminist would argue that the favoring of men over women in modern society can not be quickly fixed due to the long rooted mindset of male superiority that has plagued the human race since the beginning of time. With that said, and in contrast to liberal feminism, a radical feminist would argue for a widespread social revolution on behalf of women. To accomplish this, a fundamental change in values is needed. Women will need to be given equal respect and credit for their traditional role......

...“There are Liberal Feminists, Socialist Feminists and Radical Feminists but no Conservative Feminists”. Discuss. (45)
Over the years different sub movements of the feminist ideology have been developed these include Liberal, Social and Radical forms of feminism, however there are also other forms less well-known forms of the ideology such as post-modernist and eco feminism. However there has been controversy as to whether there can be conservative feminists or not as it looks to be utterly incompatible. Liberal, socialist and radical feminists however all have different views to feminism. Firstly, liberal feminists want a change without having a revolution and believe in having equality and female emancipation. Socialist feminists argue this as they say that nothing can happen if a social revolution isn’t brought about and radical feminists believe have the strongest opinion which is to have a revolutionary change in society to raise awareness rather than having gradual reform like liberal feminism wanted, so they go as far to say that women should have nothing to do with men.
Firstly, looking at the extent to which there are liberal feminists. The ideas of liberal feminists have come from the ideology, liberalism. They have the belief that equality can be achieved within the existing political structures in Western Liberal democracies therefore there is not need for a revolution. We should all be equal regardless of out sex, race or colour and therefore have a place in......

...Feminists believe that women are treated unfairly due to their gender. They focus on gender inequalities in society, and believe women are subordinated by men. There are different types of feminists and each of them focus on particular topics. ‘Liberal feminism focuses on eqal right; radical feminism focus on the sex war and separitism 9they see patriarch as billt into the structure of society); marxist feminism focuses on the impact of capitalism’ (Bryant, 2010).
In the early 19th century parents found it unnecessary to educate their daughters as they were destined to become housewives in the future. Education was compulsory only until the age of 10 and women weren’t permitted to go to university but feminists fought for their admission and eventually the University of London began accepting women from 1878 (Fulcher and Scott, 2003) . This was a great achievement for feminists.
Gender affects subject choice and directs individuals towards different careers. After the national curriculum was introduced in the 1980’s gender difference reduced as boys and girls were given the same curriculum up until the age of 16. However, this didn’t get rid of gender issues from the curriculum because at A-level traditional gender differences resurfaced.
As shown in the statistics on my poster (Storey, 2010), girls are now performing better in GCSE’s than boys. This could be due to the creation of programmes such as GIST (girls into science and technology), or the increasing awareness......

...Feminism: Feminism is a diverse, competing, and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economical inequalities. One institutionally predominant type of feminism focuses on limiting or eradicating gender inequality to promote women's rights, interests, and issues in society. Another opposing type of modern feminism, with deep historical roots, focuses on earning, and establishing equity by and for women, vis-a-vis men, to promote those same rights, interests, and issues, regardless of gender considerations. Thus, as with any ideology, political movement or philosophy, there is no single, universal form of feminism that represents all feminists. The most well-known types of feminism are: liberal feminism, social feminism, radical feminism, and post-modern feminism.
Liberal feminism seeks no special privileges for women and simply demand that everyone receive equal consideration without discrimination on the basis of sex. Liberal feminists would seek to remove barriers that prevent equal access for women to information technology jobs not only to provide economic equality but to provide access to higher-paying jobs for women.
In contrast to liberal feminism, socialist feminism rejects individualism and positivism. Social feminism believes that technology and the social shaping of technology have often been......

...Compare and contrast two feminism ideas
Feminism is the word given to explain the political, economic and cultural movements that have happened for many years in the view to changing the lives of women. When people in society think of a ‘feminist’ they think of angry, men hating women that think that any inequality towards women is disgraceful.
Some movements have been very public and a lot of action taken, and others are more discreet but just as powerful. The most remember able feminist movement is the suffragettes, that took up arms just after the second world war. This movement is stuck in history due to the amount of women that gave their lives for the cause. They were called the suffragettes.
Although this movement wasn’t the first feminism movement, the ‘first wave’ of feminism started around the nineteenth too twenty centuries and it has carried on in different movements until today.
One of the feminist movements is the radical way of thinking, this is the view that men just see women in a sex related way and that a woman’s body is controlled and enjoyed by the man. This movement tries to show the side where men objective a woman and Dworkin said that this way of thinking is visible in many day to day things. Such as marriage, health care, economy and also prostitution, pornography and law.
Radical feminists are also extremely against prostitution, as they see it as a way for men to treat women as commodities that are able to be used and sold, for the......

...Liberal Feminism and Radical Feminism
The goal of feminism as both a social movement and political movement is to make women and men equal not only culturally, but socially and legally. Even though there are various types of feminism that focus on different goals and issues, the ultimate end to feminism is abolishing gender inequality that has negative effects on women in our society. The issues and goals that a feminist may have are dependent on the social organization or the type of economic structure that is present. However, an ultimate end (a goal, achievement and/or accomplishment) would have to be social equality between men and women. This would mean the elimination of bias and discrimination towards women and the elimination of all forms of established hierarchy, whether it’s mandatory or enforced.
The two types of feminist theories I have chose to compare are liberal feminism and radical feminism. Even though they seem to aim for the same objectives, in the following paragraphs, I will compare and prove that they are very different in the sense that liberal feminism is form of reform feminism and radical feminism is a form of resistance feminism. They are both strategically different, and they have different ideas and beliefs that are almost the opposite of each other, which revolve around the reasons of why gender inequality exists, why women are oppressed, and why gender inequality won’t be easily abolished. The differences between radical and liberal......

...claim that part of the problem is a tendency on the government's part to interpret "equality" as sameness, and then to treat women according to an unexamined standard of male normalcy.[10]
Chapter two: definition, development, and categories of feminism
1. Definition of feminism
Throughout history, women have always struggled to obtain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. This has been difficult because of patriarchy, an ideology in which men are superior to women and have the right to control women. This ideology has spread widely among the social structures of societies throughout the world. As a result, even in the new millennium, women are still struggling for rights that most men take for granted. The struggle was even harder for women of color for not only were they dealing with sexism, but racism. In order to fight patriarchy, feminism as well as feminist theory was born.
What is feminism? Generally, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is rely on social, political and economical equality for women. Feminism is also a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women.[1][2] In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. Feminists can be anyone, for instance, men, women, girls or boys.
In this movement or revolution, women and men wish the world to be equal without boundaries. These......